


You Want Beef? I'll Take You To The Deli, Boy

by pipscalion



Category: Eyewitness (US TV)
Genre: Drabble, Family, Gen, Pre-Canon
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-11-21
Updated: 2016-11-21
Packaged: 2018-09-01 07:18:39
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,846
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8614759
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/pipscalion/pseuds/pipscalion
Summary: The first time Lukas meets Philip is at the grocery store.





	1. Pineapple on Pizza

Lukas was sitting on the couch with his chemistry notes and a bag of Cheetos, the tv turned down low. He heard his dad come in and stomp his boots at the kitchen door.

“You in here, son?” Bo called out.

“Yeah.”

His father grunted. “Did you take the turkeys their feed?”

“Did that already.”

Bo came and leaned against the doorway. “Working on some homework? Good.”

“Yeah, I’ve got a test tomorrow so I’m just studying.”

“Remember, hard work is more important than talent.”

“Yep.”

“What’s this you’re watching?”

Lukas looked up from his notes. It had been Chopped when he sat down, but now the Food Network had changed programs and it was some show featuring cake decorating. There was a lot of pink. Lukas felt his heart pound in his chest, and grabbed the remote to change the channel.

“Nothing much. Just channel surfing and got distracted.”

“Right.” Bo gave his boy a long look. “There’s nothing for supper. What do you say we order some pizza, and pick it up after some grocery shopping?”

“Sounds good. Can you get one with pineapple?”

“You’re coming with.”

“Dad, I’ve just got a lot of material to study..”

“Take a break. Come on.”

Lukas sighed and flipped his textbook shut. He still didn’t really understand redox reactions, but he couldn’t deny that pizza sounded good. He waited until his dad had turned away before wiping Cheetos dust on his jeans.

Five yards into the grocery store, Bo ran into Mr. Dunsford from the hardware store and they settled in to shoot the breeze. Lukas slumped over the handle of the cart and stared at the apples in the produce section.

“Hey, dad? Dad?” he interrupted the mens’ conversation. “Can we get some apples?”

“Sure, Lukas. In fact, here’s the list, why don’t you take care of the rest of the items for me?”

Lukas grabbed the scrap of paper from his dad and wheeled the cart away. He threw a bag of Granny Smith in the cart. “Good kid you’ve got there.” He heard Mr. Dunsford say.

“Had to drag him away from studying. He’s going to get good marks this year.”

Lukas felt his mind sharpen in the way it always did when he heard his dad bragging about Lukas, and shook his head. What had he just been thinking? He realized that it was about Granny Smith being good for baking pies, and angrily pushed the cart off to the meat aisle. He only ever had pie at Thanksgiving at his grandparents place, or sometimes if he and his dad stopped to eat at the diner. Men didn’t make pies.

He wheeled sharply around the turn to the cereal aisle, intending to grab some instant oatmeal. He almost ran over the Sheriff.

“Whoa there, Lukas!”

“Sorry! Sorry.” The aisles of Tivoli’s only grocery store were narrow, and with two shopping carts there wasn’t much room to maneuver. He managed to squeeze past her cart.

“Philip, you must have met Lukas at school.” Lukas hadn’t noticed that there was a boy trailing miserably behind the Sheriff.

“Yeah, we have English together.” Did they? Lukas had never noticed. He took stock of Philip. His leather jacket was cool. But everything about his posture, his hands tucked in pockets, the petulant jut of his chin and detachment in his eyes said that he would rather not be having this conversation. Lukas was holding eye contact a beat too long. He looked away after Philip raised an eyebrow.

“Yeah.”

“Well, I hope you’ll do your best to make Philip feel welcome!” Lukas laughed weakly and glanced at Philip, who was looking at his shoes and biting his lip. Lukas pushed on down the aisle to the oatmeal, and found himself lingering longer than he needed to over the options. His dad was probably still talking with Mr. Dunsford. Lukas eavesdropped on Philip and Helen.

“Which cereal do you want?”

“I dunno. How about this one?”

“Raisin Bran? Ok. Are you sure?”

Philip shrugged, and Helen put a box in their cart. “How about jam? What flavour do you like?” Philip shot Lukas a look, and he realized that he had been caught staring. He put whatever box of oatmeal was closest to him into his cart and carried on. Eggs were next on the list.


	2. Potato Salad

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bo paused at the door on his way out. “It’s better to get it over with, rather than putting it off.”  
> “Whatever, dad.”

Philip was hoping to sleep in on Saturday, but he woke up just before 7. He lay in bed, wide awake, wondering how long he should wait before going downstairs. How late did a normal, average teenager sleep in, anyways? Back in the city there were days that he didn’t get up before noon. Back in the city there were also nights that he was awake past midnight, either worrying about his mom or purposefully _not_ worrying. Here, in the country, everything was so wholesome and healthy and the latest he had been to bed all week was 11:30. Philip couldn’t deal with it. He was having a hard time adjusting, and he knew that deep down inside he didn’t want to adjust. In some way, if he happily accepts his wonderful new life with Helen and Gabe, it feels like he’s losing his connection to his mom. So he stays true the only way he knows how, by being a stubborn little shit.

Philip heard noise coming from outside, and leaned over to the window to see his foster parents hauling the canoe into the shed. Figuring the coast is clear, he hopped out of bed and down the hall to the bathroom. Washing his hands in the sink after, he looked at himself in the mirror.

“It’s going to be okay.” He said softly. Then scrubbed his hands over his face and pressed them against the edge of the sink to lean closer to the mirror. “Gabe and Helen are good people.” He made a face at himself in the mirror and went back to his room to flop on the bed.

The thing was, they must be good people, right? What kind of person decides to take in a delinquent youth, anyways. They both had good jobs, were respected in the community, and had been nothing but kind and considerate to Philip since he met them. So why was he always waiting for the other shoe to drop? Philip frowned into his pillow and arched his back lazily. If they loved children so much, why didn’t they just have one of their own? Maybe they were infertile? Philip was wondering if there was something wrong with Helen, or if Gabe was shooting blanks, when he somehow drifted back to sleep.

 

Lukas was having a nice dream, but then his dad ruined it by shaking him awake.

“It’s past ten, time to get up.” Lukas groaned and rolled over, pulling the duvet over his head. “Come on, you need to help with chores.”

Lukas popped his head out and blinked at the bright sunlight. “I was going to work on the back fence this afternoon.”

His dad reached out and tousled his hair. Lukas scowled and patted his hair back down. He knew he looked like a dandelion gone to seed first thing in the morning. “Too bad, kiddo. Helen and Gabe invited us over for barbeque, so if we’re going to get that fence done we’ve got to do it now.”

Lukas groaned again and slumped down in bed.

Bo kicked the bedframe. “No whining. I want to see you downstairs in ten minutes.”

“Ok, dad.”

Bo paused at the door on his way out. “It’s better to get it over with, rather than putting it off.”

“Whatever, dad.”

 

Philip sauntered downstairs around 11 and found Helen and Gabe seated around the kitchen table. Based on how relaxed they looked, and the little smiles they kept sharing, Philip guessed that they had recently had sex. He was suddenly glad he had slept in.

“Heyyy, there he is!” said Gabe, catching sight of him.

“He’s alive!!” Helen said, and giggled.

“We were just about to wake you up, if you didn’t get up on your own.”

“Yeah? Something wrong with teenagers sleeping in?”

“Not usually, not on a Saturday, but we’ve got plans.”

“Really? What’s up.” Philip got himself a glass of orange juice from the fridge. If he was going to act like he lived here, he had to get comfortable with helping himself.

Gabe and Helen exchanged a glance, and Philip felt a swell of jealousy. How could they be so happy, so completely in tune with each other that they could communicate with just a look? He took a sip of juice to get the lump of rage in his throat to go down.

“We’ve invited the Waldenbecks over for a barbeque” said Gabe.

“You remember we ran into Lukas at the grocery store the other day?”

“Sure. Wait. Lukas?”

“Blond hair, he rides a dirt bike around.”

“Yeah, I know who he is. He’s coming over here?”

“We wanted to help you make some friends. Is there a problem with Lukas?”

Philip shook his head. Only the problem that he was pretty sure Lukas wanted nothing to do with him. But it was fine. With adults around, things would be civil. “Can I help with anything, for the barbeque?”

“Well,” Helen hesitated. “I was planning on making a potato salad. You could help me in the kitchen.”

“Sure”

“You don’t have to if you don’t want to.”  

“I said sure.”

 

Lukas tossed one last load of brushcut in the bed of the trailer and waved to his dad on the seat of the tractor.

“I’ll just get the chainsaw and then we’re done!”

“Good work.” Bo nodded. “You ride your bike back and take the shower first. I’ll be along in a bit.”

Lukas didn’t wait to be told twice. He gunned his engine and tore off across the fields. It didn’t matter if he took the longer route, he would still get there faster. And if he got a little bit dirty, well, he was going to have a shower anyways. He loved the freedom of being on a dirt bike, loved how it felt like flying, loved the speed and the danger. He liked the way it set him apart at school too; he liked being part of the cool kids. And someday, if he was lucky, motorcross was going to be his ticket out of this town.

They talked sponsors on the truck ride over to Helen and Gabe’s place. And then Bo asked, “So what do you know about this Philip Shea?”

Lukas squirmed in his seat. “I dunno. He’s new. Lived in the city before, I think.” Lukas knew that Philip picked Raisin Bran cereal, but he didn’t think he actually liked Raisin Bran. That wasn’t what his dad wanted to know. “Rose says his mother is a drug addict, and that’s why he’s in foster care.”

His dad put on the turn signal and downshifted to pull into the driveway. “Everyone has a purpose, son. Remember that.”

“Ok, dad.” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sleepy boys.  
> I stayed up to write this instead of going to bed, so tomorrow (today?) will be painful.

**Author's Note:**

> I have a lot of feelings about these boys and food. Namely, that they both grew up in single-parent households, but with different relationships to food. Lukas and his dad probably eat a lot of prepared freezer meals. And eggs and bacon all the time. Bo Waldenbeck definitely knows how to heat up a can of soup if his son is sick, but regards cooking as womanly.   
> On the other hand, Philip probably knows his way around a kitchen, and can make a meal for under $5. All part of the life skills you acquire when you're more responsible than your adult parent. So when he moves in with Helen and Gabe, he has to struggle with how to behave like a normal teenager, plus these adults trying to spend money on him and make him comfortable and cared for.   
> If I write more of this, the end goal is Philkas domestic fluff with Lukas baking terrible muffins and shit, and Philip having good things happen to him.


End file.
